fighting is good for the soul
by Supernatural-Lover
Summary: Buffy sends Angel out to look for Spike, knowing that danger is coming and that she'll need them both for the impending fight. Angel and Spike share a conversation and a good ol' fashioned brawl...before meeting up with their slayer to get into another go
1. Default Chapter

The world seemed to be a different place when she was in it. When he saw her, it was as if she had swallowed the sun, and her skin glowed until it seemed that he would go blind, and yet, he could never stop looking at her. The brush of her hair on her shoulders, the tinge of blue in her green eyes, and the soft smell of her drove him close to insanity. He often wondered if there was a reason for his leaving at all, or if he had been trying to protect her like he said he had. More often than not, he thought that his real reason for leaving was so that he wouldn't have to watch the sun drain out of her, until she was just like the rest of them, an empty husk with no emotion. She was a person driven by her passions, never forgetting a wrong done to her, but always finding ways to forgive them. Following her heart at all times, she held nothing back and expected the same courtesy. That was another reason why he had left. His curse was a curse to them both. Their entire relationship had been about holding back, and it wasn't fair to her. All Angel wanted to do was to take her in his arms and hold her for eternity, to spend his days in the sun with her. Because of the demon inside of him, both were impossible. Buffy deserved someone who could love her in darkness and sunlight, who could give her a family and years of happy life. Angel could love her, and he loved her every minute of every day, but he couldn't offer her those things. It cut him to pieces every time that he saw her, which is why he only came to Sunnydale whenever she needed him. But after her phone call the day before, Angel knew that he could put it off no longer. Buffy needed him. He had to go.  
  
He knocked on her front door and waited impatiently for it to open. He heard someone clatter down the stairs and whirl the door open. He found himself looking at Buffy's little sister. The reunion in his mind spoiled, Angel smiled a tight smile.  
"Hey Dawnie. Can I come in?"  
Dawn had obviously not known that Angel was coming, because she looked shocked. She stepped back into the house, leaving the door open for him. Angel stepped into the Summer's house and closed the door. After standing in uncomfortable silence for a minute, Dawn smiled up at him.  
"I'll go get Buffy." She said, and walked up the stairs to find her sister.  
Angel glanced around the living room and noticed a new picture on the mantle. It featured Buffy, Xander, and Willow in front of the Bronze, all clad in leather and posing for an intentionally funny picture. Buffy's hair was longer than he remembered, curled at the ends, and a darker color. Willow had short hair and wore makeup, and Xander looked more built and confident.  
He heard heels coming down the stairs again and turned around, finding himself face to face with the object of his love and admiration. Buffy smiled warmly at him as she walked into the living room, and hesitantly gave him a hug, which he returned. Stepping back, she looked him over and chuckled.  
"What?" He asked, wondering at her amusement. "Angel, do you ever not wear that duster? It's a California summer, you know." Angel grinned and shook his head. "Let's just call it a necessary precaution from sunburn." "It must be hard to get a sunburn at midnight," buffy grinned. "Depends on..." Angel stopped and stared at Buffy, who was looking at him with barely surpressed laughter. "What?" he asked, slightly irritable. "Angel, I was kidding. Is everyone so serious in L.A., or have you just been working on your brooding skills?" Angel looked down at his black boots and shifted his weight on the old rug that covered the floor. Buffy looked down too, and her hands balled into nervous fists. "I guess you want to know why I asked you to come?" Buffy asked quietly. Angel nodded and looked up at her face, one so used to pain and suffering, yet miraculously unchanged. "Well, I know this is really not gonna be fun for you, but I need your help with something." Angel waited patiently for her to continue. "It's Spike." At the mention of the grand-child in his vampire family, Angel winced. "He disappeared two nights ago. All of his stuff is gone from his old crypt, and I need you to find him." Angel was surprised. "Why can't Willow do a locator spell?" he asked. "She should to stay away from magic right now," Buffy answered uneasily, not very willing to share her best friend's personal battle with the magical addiction. Angel only nodded, understanding and not needing an explanation. "So why do you need to find Spike?" He asked casually. "I need to know where he is at all times. The chip was just taken out, he's been acting a little strange, and I want to keep an eye on him. Plus, whenever this thing with the first explodes, he needs to be there with the rest of us. Somehow....he made it into the inner circle of the scoobies, and...we just need him around." Buffy said this just as casually as Angel had asked his question, but her clam voice was contradicted by her eyes. Angel noticed, but didn't say anything. Turning to look at the clock on the mantle, he figured that he had about three hours of darkness left. "You should go on patrol," he said evenly. "I'll start looking now and hole up in a crypt for the day if I can't get back before dawn." He walked towards the door, feeling the strange urge to either grab Buffy and kiss her, or to kick something on his way out. With restraint he managed to open the door without doing either one. As he was closing the door behind him, Buffy called out, "Be careful!" Angel just smiled and stepped out into the inky darkness. 


	2. the meeting

Angel strode purposely through the third graveyard of his patrol, keeping a sharp lookout for other vampires while he searched for spike. He was armed with a stake he'd made from a broken tree branch, and his thoughts were of Buffy. For some reason, he didn't feel like she was being totally honest about why she wanted to know where Spike was. One impossible thought kept pushing at his mind, but he dismissed it each time. *Buffy and Spike were not together like that.* he thought angrily. *Buffy would have mentioned it, and Spike would have taken the opportunity to gloat as fast as possible.* The gravestones and crypts were all beginning to look the same and Angel was beginning to look for a place to sleep during the day when he heard the sounds of fighting. Thinking that it might be Buffy on patrol, he ran toward the sounds. A feral growl escaped from one of the fighting vampires as Angel ran out into an opening of the crypts. Spike was surrounded by several of their kind, and was obviously wounded. He grabbed his side as one of the vampires struck him in the chin. Angel called his name and ran into the nearest vampire, striking him with his head bowed and his shoulders hunched. With a quick thrust of his stake, the vampire was dust. Grabbing another vampire around the neck, Angel swung him around until his back was against a monumental stone, and cracked his head on the rock. Tossing the dazed demon over his shoulder, he turned and staked another through the back, just as Buffy had taught him. Suddenly, Angel felt his legs being swept out from under him. He hit the ground hard, and rolled over to the left to avoid being kicked in the head. Slamming his foot around, he caught the vampire on the chin and snapped its neck.  
"You ninny!" He dimly heard Spike call. "Why didn't you just dust it?!" Then there was a swirling of dust and Spike was standing above him, clutching his side. Angel looked around and noticed that Spike had taken out the remaining vamps, and he stumbled to his feet. "I had it under control," He growled. Spike just grinned. "Sure you did." He said in an arrogant sneer. Angel glared at him. "I wasn't the one who needed to be rescued, peroxide boy, you were!" He almost shouted the words, but managed to keep them at a low murmur instead. Spike shook his head. "Whatever, mate. What are you doing in town anyway? And before we get to the tearful reunion, I need to patch up the bloody hole in my side." He turned and strode away without waiting for a response. Angel stared after him for a minute, then remembered that he was supposed to be keeping tabs on Spike, and with a curse, Angel followed him. Spike noticed his stalker and turned to face Angel with a predatory grin. "Are we going to have to duke it out again? It seems like every bloody time you come waltzing into this town you have a hankering to get your ass beat. Although I would very much like to shove your duster down your throat, I do have a pressing engagement." Gesturing down at his side, Spike started walking again. Angle took a deep, unnecessary breath to calm himself down and followed Spike again. "Buffy sent me to find you!" He called out with as much hatred as he could muster. Spike stopped and slowly turned around to face him. There was a gleam in his eye now, and Angel wondered what had put it there. "You're such a nancy-boy, you know that?" He got up in Angel's face. "Why would she want to know where I am anyway? She doesn't need my help anymore than she needs yours. The slayer can take care of herself." Angel reached out and gripped Spike's red shirt collar and bent his head close, allowing his vampire features to show. "You'd love to see her dead, wouldn't you! I can't let that happen. If you think for one second that you are going to abandon her.." He trailed off, growling and panting with anger and restraint. Spike looked him strait in the eye. "Abandoning her is what you're good at," he said with a sneer. "Why don't you just get the hell out of her life for good?" All control left Angel then. His conscious seemed to take a vacation. His eyes were covered with a white mist that was tinged with red. He felt his fists fly out to collide with Spike's cold body again and again. Each time, his mind screamed at him, * you had to leave! You did it for Buffy! * It pounded in his head in perfect time to the collision with Spike's bloody side and face. 


End file.
